But though this had been a night of much hardship and danger, God gave them a morning of comfort and refreshment, as He usually doth to His children; for the next day was a fair sun-shining day, and they found they were on an island secure from the Indians, where they could dry their stuff, fix their arms, and rest themselves and give God thanks for His mercies in their manifold deliverances. This being the last day of the week they prepared to keep the Sabbath there. On Monday they sounded the harbour and found it fit for shipping; and marching inland they found several cornfields and little running brooks,—a place, as they supposed, fit for a settlement, at least it was the best they could find, and considering the season of the year and their present necessity they were thankful for it. So they returned with this news to the rest of their people aboard the ship, which cheered them greatly. On the 15th day of December they weighed anchor to go to the place they had discovered, and came within two leagues of it, but had to bear up again. On the 16th day the wind came fair, and they arrived safe in the harbour. Afterwards they took a better view of the place, and resolved where to pitch their dwellings; and on the 25th day they began to erect the first house for common use, to receive them and their goods. BOOK II 1620-1646 HISTORY OF THE SETTLEMENT AT NEW PLYMOUTH CHAPTER I Deed of Government drawn up—Death of half their number—Squanto—Compact with the Indians—Captain Dermer’s description of New Plymouth: 1620. The rest of this work—if God give me life and opportunity—I shall, for brevity’s sake, handle in the form of Annals, noting only the principal doings, chronologically. First, I will turn back a little, and begin with a compact or deed drawn up by them before they went ashore to settle, constituting the first foundation of their government. This was occasioned partly by the discontented and mutinous speeches that some of the strangers amongst them had let fall: that when they got ashore they would use their liberty that none had power to command them, the patent procured being for Virginia, and not for New England, which belonged to another company, with which the Virginia company had nothing to do. And, further, it was believed by the leading men among the settlers that such a deed, drawn up by themselves, considering their present condition, would be as effective as any patent, and in some respects more so. The form of the deed was as follows: